21 August, 2010

For a couple of years I have been coveting the ice cream attachment
by Kitchen Aid. But I found it difficult to find in Canada and
every time I went to the US I forgot about it. But this year on our way back
from our holiday I finally bought my ice cream maker.
I knew it was a mistake to stop at Williams-Sonoma (WS)
on our way back from Boston.
But we were hungry by the time we hit Burlington, VT
and we had to eat lunch, and I knew there was a WS there.
And I knew they carried the Kitchen Aid ice cream
maker attachment I've been coveting.
And I knew I would buy it and I did.

I'm addicted.

Last summer some friends bought
ice cream makers, but after the initial thrill wore
off they put them away in the cupboard.
They said that it made such a small amount of ice cream
for so much work. And it is expensive.

I don't find that at all. Well, the expensive part yes.
If you use the best ingredients you can find, it can be quite
expensive. And I've been trying to use only organic ingredients
(when a bottle of cream hits $7.00 it's starting to get a little
expensive). But the taste is so worth it.
My KA makes 2 quarts instead of the typical 1 so it makes
a decent amount of ice cream.
And so far I am making flavors that are difficult to find here.

I started off with organic lemon ice cream. It lasted about an hour.
Really it was amazing. Then I made orange creamsicle ice cream.
Amazing. Then the boys insisted I make 2 more batches of lemon.
I should also say that I bought a Microplane zester and I don't know
how I ever zested a lemon or an orange before. It doubles the amount
of zest you get off of a piece of fruit.
I also made mango sorbet. While it was delicious, it was a little
gritty. I think the next time I will strain the mango.

I also bought The Perfect Scoop, which is the ice cream bible.
It reads like a novel (or at least it does for someone obsessed with
ice cream). The only disappointment so far was the roasted banana recipe.
And I knew that it would be from the outset. I knew that we wouldn't like
the flavor imparted by roasting the bananas. But I won't give up.
I have searched for other banana recipes that I am going to try.

First thing though I am off to the Atwater Market to find some good
quality chocolate because today I try my hand at making chocolate
ice cream. I'm a little nervous. So far everything has been fruit
based and not custard based.I think it will work out if I
take my time.

06 August, 2010

Finally.
In more ways than one.
I really needed to take a break and refocus.
It was helpful. I made some decisions about my
online shop. Or I thought I did.
And some about my new shop. But enough about all
of that for now.

This is a catch up of what we've been up to this summer
for those of you I haven't been emailing or calling.

We just returned from a holiday to the coast (NE not NS)
and have returned well fed and well rested.

It was fantastic. Martin and I used to go to Boston's
north shore every summer and then stopped when
we had Shel. I can't believe that we haven't been back
in over 10 years.

Due to our tardiness in booking our trip
we couldn't find anything close to
Plum Island where we usually stay, but
we stayed closer to Salem and that turned out to
be great. We found a new beach that has become
a family favorite (Crane Beach near Ipswich),
we did the touristy
witch stuff in Salem, went looking for whales
(and saw over 20), ate loads of fantastic seafood.

We stopped in Burlington, VT on the way
back for lunch and I bought an ice cream maker.
I've made 2 batches of lemon ice cream and
I think there is no going back to
commercial ice cream.
I had also forgotten how much I really
like Burlington. It is a very funky little
town.

Now we're back and I have a summer cold.
I'm taking a few days to recover and then
I will have more news about my new shop.

14 July, 2010

It's been so hot here lately, I decided to make some healthy popsicles with yogurt and fresh raspberries rather than eating the sugar-filled ones we buy at the depanneur.

I bought this popsicle mold a couple of years ago and can't believe that I haven't used it yet. But that's the way I am. It all gets used eventually.

I was reading Orangette and she made popsicles from David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop. If you haven't discovered David Lebovitz yet you really must read his food blog.

So today I decided to get off my duff and make some popsicles for the wee man as a surprise when he gets home from day camp later on.

I know that he will be coming up with his own recipes once he realizes how incredibly easy they are to make.

Raspberry Yogurt Popsicles
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz

Use whole-milk yogurt, not low-fat or nonfat. It tastes better, and it makes for a better tasting popsicle.

Recipe

2 cups (480 grams) plain whole-milk yogurt

2 cups (240 grams) fresh or frozen raspberries

¾ cup (150 grams) sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in the jar of a blender, and process until smooth. Set a strainer over a bowl (or other vessel) with a pour spout. Press the mixture through the strainer to remove seeds. Divide mixture among popsicle molds of your choosing and freeze for 4-5 hours. If using something other than real popsicle molds, freeze for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the mixture begins to set; then insert popsicle sticks. Freeze until very hard.

29 June, 2010

Usually, we have our summer plans all mapped out already, but
this year we are late and it shows.
We have been discussing where to go and what to do.
I found this lovely lighthouse in my search and
wish I had found it earlier. They are already
booking for next year or the year after.

29 April, 2010

I've been in the Chicago area for the last week.
The days have been busy, but followed by
very enjoyable evenings at some fantastic
restaurants.
Last night we ate at a Spanish tapas restaurant
that was so good I was tempted to go back again
tonight. The restaurant is in a Victorian home
that was converted. It is absolutely beautiful and
I had the most fantastic passion fruit martini.

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